


Treat You Better

by TheMorningSaga



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMorningSaga/pseuds/TheMorningSaga
Summary: On Harry's 40th birthday he looks back in time and wishes things had been different. But there is no time like the present.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	Treat You Better

AN Hey all HHR discord friends this is my submission for the 40th birthday event and I hope you all like it! Rant gave me the idea in the video-music channel so thanks for that! And I don’t hate Ron! But I had to for this! Thanks for the read!

Maybe he should’ve felt more excited for his big day. Except it didn’t feel so big the older he got. Of course he was overjoyed to have reached his 40th birthday considering many moons ago he only dreamed of reaching it. 

But life was funny like that. For all of the gifts it had given him. A job that he loved, friends he could depend on, and some form of a family. It had also deprived him of the one thing that he wanted most.

Of course he thought he had found it with Ginny. And it had taken them two years of on and off for him to see it was not meant to be. By that time he had already found the problem. He was in love with his best friend Hermione Granger. The problem? Well she was with his other best friend. 

For a long time he had hoped, he had even prayed that they might break up. Anyone with two eyes could see that those two didn’t belong together. Even their own parents. But maybe out of stubbornness or out of a sense of commitment they remained together to this day.

As a result Harry found himself not as close as he used to be. He still saw them of course on holidays and even the occasional lunch but it wasn’t the same. He found it harder and harder to be in the same room as her without wanting to do something he’d regret. And things carried on like that for over a decade. 

He had gotten a job teaching defense at Hogwarts which helped him put distance between them. He hoped that he’d be able to forget… forget all of the feelings he should’ve been able to pick out long ago. 

Truly he had wanted her since their 4th year when she had proved again she was his very best friend. She had stayed with him throughout the tournament and thanks to her he had lived to see its end. 

Of course he already knew Ron liked her. Which had put him off trying to make a move. He hoped that his friends crush would die after he saw how bad they would be together. Or that maybe Hermione herself would make a move on him! But it never happened. 

As the years passed and they continued to conquer more and more obstacles he put his dreams to rest. There was a dark lord to kill and if he was sure of anything it was that it wasn’t the time for relationships. 

They had done it, killed lord Voldemort and everything should’ve been good. There were many parties and balls and celebration for weeks. But it didn’t feel right. It felt… numbing when he saw them together. Dancing, smiling, and occasionally kissing. It was those moments that made him go to Ginny. She was a nice girl, and they shared a few common interests. She was funny, and could be a blast. But there was also the other side of her. The incredibly jealous and territorial part. The part that screamed at him if he was out late with Hermione, funnily enough he wished he was doing half the things she accused him of. Maybe he would’ve tried, but he couldn’t break apart the friendships he spent his whole childhood creating. 

In the end they seemed happy. Her happiness was more important than his own. Of course as everyone knew it didn’t stay like that. They had constantly fought and fought. Sometimes they’d even break up and Hermione would come stay with him or her parents but again and again they would get back together. 

The cycle had gone on for far too long. Now they were in a whole new league. He knew for a fact that Ron had been seeing his old fling in Lavender Brown for the last two years. He had even told Hermione but god she had refused to believe it. Well, maybe she did believe him but she refused to acknowledge it. She would always say he’d never do that to her and that he was just being crazy. He must’ve saw someone else. And as much as he hated himself for it he stopped trying to convince her long ago. She continued to live in denial.

They’d act happy at family gatherings or at parties but everyone knew that it was a sham: some said they were only fooling themselves but in truth they were fooling one other person.

Rosalind Granger. Their four year old daughter and his own god daughter. He remembered when Hermione had gotten pregnant he had been heart broken. It was truly the nail in the coffin. Except for the fact that Hermione had denied giving her daughter Ron’s last name unless they got married which subsequently still hadn’t happened. 

He recalled Hermione telling him how happy Ron had been and how well he had been treating her. How he had actually picked up around their home and how he had actually asked her about how she was feeling. Of course that had faded before she had even given birth and as a result when Ron was out drinking Hermione was at Harry’s house relaxing so when her boyfriend came home they wouldn’t have a spat. 

It all culminated towards Ron actually missing the birth of his daughter. He didn’t even want to imagine that fight but he did know that she had stayed at his home for three weeks afterwards. 

At first it didn’t look like she could blame him. He said Fred had sent him to a meeting in France. But one call to George had easily proved Ron a liar and he refused to say where he was. Of course Harry knew but he knew Hermione wouldn’t bother listening.

According to Ron he had been sleeping on the couch ever since that day. When Harry asked why they don’t just call it quits the man had gotten angry and accused him of trying to steal his girlfriend. Of course he was right, but at this point he didn’t see it as stealing more like rescuing her. And him even in a way. It was easy to see that he was as unhappy as she was but for some reason he kept holding on. Part of him thought it was… well he hated to think he was only with her so that he couldn’t. But all he could think about was back in the tent. How Ron had accused them of being together and how mad he had been. Then how he would use every chance to almost rub it in his face that she had chosen him.

Little did he know Harry had never even tried. They were too good of friends for him to ever betray his trust like that. 

But today was different. He was going to do it. He had wasted the better part of two decades being empty. Well he wouldn’t say wasted, he did love his students and telling them stories. Teaching them how to protect themselves and their loved ones. His job was fulfilling. But painful when he went home for the summers to nobody. 

Today he would bear his heart to her and he would take the rejection. If only so he could stop lying to himself. 

He told missus Weasley that he didn’t want a big party this year. He lied and said that he had a lot of coursework to remake because of a curriculum change. So he asked that she could postpone it a week so he could get his work done. She had agreed, even if it made him feel bad to lie. 

He invited Hermione and little Rose over. He didn’t worry about Ron showing up, he hadn’t the last two years so he highly doubted it now. The man loved an opportunity where they’d be out of the house for a couple of hours. Sometimes the night. 

That was it, he invited her. He needed to talk to her and to tell her how he felt. It was passed due and he would not be taking this to the grave. It was now or never and… and he was going to do it. He had looked Voldemort in the eyes many times, this should be a piece of cake? Right? But for some reason he felt more vulnerable than ever. 

He owned a home out in the country, like he had wanted with Sirius a lifetime ago. He liked the quiet and the privacy it provided. 

His home was spacious but not overly so. When he first bought it he imagined raising children in it… which had never happened. Although Hermione and Rose had their own rooms because of how often they would stay over. He had the room, there was no need a bachelor needed a four bedroom home. 

When he first came up with his plan he thought about cooking her dinner and talking to her throughout the night. And then bring up how he was feelings. But he decided against it. He didn’t need to wait a moment longer. He would tell her as soon as she got here. Otherwise he may lose his nerve. 

He sat in his favorite chair and focused on the clock that was slowly ticking away. Oh how it ticked his life away. What had be done? Hid and waited for more than twenty years? When the girl of his dreams had been beside him the entire time? If this somehow worked he would work the rest of their lives to make it up to both of them. 

What would he say? He really didn’t know. He knew how he felt and he knew what he wanted but what were the words? We’re there even perfect words? Probably not, nothing was perfect. Not even her. 

No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t help but fret. A missed word? Half a second to late or too early and it could all be over. He liked to think that he had accepted the possibility of rejection already but in truth he hadn’t. He couldn’t, if he did then all Hope would be lost. The same hope that got him through each and every day. 

They were due soon, and he could feel the sweat dripping from his brow. The worst things in life truly come free to us. He had endured so much pain and hurt over the years that he rarely felt anything. And when he did it was… it was with her beside him. Or even little Rose, moments with his students. They brought back the light he had been missing for what seemed like forever. 

Knock!

He didn’t want to get up.

Knock! Knock! 

He needed too.

Knock! 

God this was stupid. 

Knock!

Before he could second guess himself he sprung from his seat and to the door. He caught himself holding his breath, not knowing what the hell he was going to say. 

Grabbing the knob he flung the door open. 

Standing there she was, in all of her beauty. She had aged of course, but she had done so beautifully. To her right was Rose, holding a handful of papers with a large smile on her face. Her red hair flowed down her shoulders and her pink cheeks beamed at him. Instinctively he reached for her and embraced her tenderly. 

“Uncle Harry!” She laughed as he hugged her tight.

Hermione let out a laugh that he quietly cherished. Hoping it wasn’t the last time.

When he let her go he was grabbed by the other Granger woman into a tight embrace.

“Happy birthday Harry.” She whispered into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. 

He moved aside to let them in. Rose immediately sat in his chair and set her papers on its arm. 

“Harry I have presents for you!” She yelled excitedly. 

“Oh thank you Rosie… do you think I could look after I talk to your mum?” Harry trembled. Far more nervous than he had rehearsed in his head. 

He could feel Hermione looking at him but he fixed his eyes on Rose.

“Okay… but make it fast I can’t wait!” She said. Before grabbing the remote and flipping on the TV.

“Can we talk?” Harry asked her. 

She looked back at him confused, searching for an answer in his eyes but she seemed to find none .

“Of course.” She replied. 

He nodded and led her through the house and on to the back porch. Somewhere they had spent countless nights pondering life. 

“Harry wha-“

“Hermione, there’s something I’ve needed to say… I- I can treat you better than he can. I know, we both know he’s not right for you. And you can lie and say he is but he isn’t. I… I love you and I have since we were kids. And for the longest time I’ve tried to convince myself you were happy and that we could never be but we can and I want that so fucking bad. I love you, and I love Rose. You guys are my family and… I want you Hermione.” He blurted. Each word only drawing on the last one. To the point where he didn’t realize the tears that had began freely running down his cheeks. 

He looked to her face. Her mouth was agape and her eyes too looked coated with tears. They locked eyes while he tried to decipher what she could be thinking to no avail.

The stood like that for a few moments. Simply staring at one another deeply.

He had done it, he had said what he wanted to say. Whether or not he died tomorrow… at least he would die having left nothing on the table.

“Harry-

The End


End file.
